Hosiery



March 29,1927.

A. J. BEucUs HOSIERY Filed March llv 1926 NNI predetermined point Aao ,into ythe plain `tween the stitches.

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Patented Mer. 29, 192,7.l

UNITED STATES 1,623,024 PATENT oFFicE.

ABRAHAM 2l'. BEUCUS, OF WAUPUN. XISCONSIIN,v ASSIGNOR TOPARAMOUNT'TEXTILE 1 MACHINERY CO., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIONOF ILLINOIS.

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Application inea March 11, 192s. 'd serial No. 93,950.

This invention relates to hosiery and, more particularlyto the typethereof which includes one or more soecalled anti-ravel or anti-run backrounds or courses.

Ithas heretofore been proposed to knit knitted web of a stocking one ormore rounds designed to prevent raveling of the web in the direction inwhiclrthe knitting progresses so that, in the event of the cutting,breaking, or wearing away of the yarn of the stitches, the-fabric beyonda will be unaffected.

The practice generally followed in knitting the anti-ravelround is tothrow ever)T other cylinder-needle out of action and float the yarnbetween the active needles, thus leaving a. straight .section of yarnbe-. This results in the length of yarn in that round beingsubstantially reduced in comparison with that in adjacent rounds, withconsequent loss of diametral extensibility of that round. This is aserious defect`in that, by reason of the shortness of the diametraldimensions of the`v round and, thus, of its reduced extensibility,

the fabric will frequently rupture in that round. This practice has beenfollowed, almostuniversally, for certain types ofhosiery for a greatmanyyears. So far as Iam no effective way has yet been suggested of.avoiding this defect.

My inventive-concept contemplates ydeparting from knitting into theround* (in which the reduced number of needles is utilized to producethe same) substantially the same length of yarn asin the proximaterounds, the yarn being floated between stitches, so that that round willbe of substantially the same diametral extensibility as thel otherrounds and, in consequence, willnot rupture when` stretched, as in use.

The invention involves an improved method of knitting into ahosiery-article one or more anti-run back rounds, the yarn of suchrounds being floated between the stitches, the anti-run back round, aswell as the proximate rounds, having the same diametral extensibility.

In4 the accompanying drawings, I havel illustrated, diagrammatically. asection of fabric which includes rounds of knitting produced on aso-called Scott & Williams machine-exemplified, for instance, in United'States Letters-Patent of R. W.

the established practice and.

Scott, No. 1,152,850, dated September' 7, M15-including the type of.anti-run back round shown 1n Fig. 4e of-United States Letters-.Patent ofL. A. Costello No. 97 6,555, dated November 22, 1910; there also beingillustrated in these drawings, diagrammatically, certain of the knittingelements employed in producing the anti-run back course. It is to beunderstood, however, that my method may be practiced in conjunction withother types of hosiery knitting machines, and with other elements.l

In these drawings: `Figure 1 is a fragmentary, diagrammatic view,showing the development of the interior of the knitting-cam-cylinder ofa Scott & Williams'mach'ine and whereby a predetermined number ofneedles are thrown out vof action for knitting the anti-run back for theanti-run back round` when half the needles are in action, to produce therequired diametral extensibility in that round to correspond with thatof proximate rounds, this being accomplished, in this instance byvarying the vertical relationship between the sinkeror web-holder andthe needle;

Fig. 4 is a similar view illustrating the relation of the parts foraccomplishing the same result but ,by varying both the radial andvertical relationshipbetween the sinker or web-holder and the needles;and

Fig. 5 is an exaggerated, diagrammatic view illustrating a portion offabric which includes a non-raveling round of stitches wherein a sectionof the yarn is oated between stitches and with my improvement embodiedtherein.

Referring to the drawings, and to Fig. 1

thereof. the reference-character 1 designates an ordinaryv stationarycam-cylinder or ringof a Scott-8:. Williams machine of the typedisclosed in said Scott patent-which carries knitting-cams for coactingwith butts on cylinder-needles 2 and 3-having butts 2 and 3*,respectively-durin' their stitch-forming operations. The needlejcylindernot shown) is vertically movable with respect to this cam-cylinder andits cams to vary the length of the stitch.

During normal round-and-round knitting wherein the full set ofcylinder-needles in the machine is in action, all of the butts 2a and 3of the needles 2 and 3, respectively, travel on a ledge 4 of the ring 1in the direction of the arrow Y.

Where, however, an interposed non-raveling course is to be produced,certain of the needles-being, in this instance, the needles 3*are thrownout of action: To that end, as herein shown, every second needle in theseries-being the needle 2-is provided with a jack and is raised thereby,when its jack engages a cam 6, to' a relatively higher plane so that itsbutt 2n will pass over the top of a cam 7 and engage the upper surface 8of a cam 9; thence, the butt passes under cams 10 and 11 while itsneedle takes yarn and forms a new stitch, in the usual manner; whereuponit rises on the slope 12 to the ledge 4. During this operation, theneedles 3, which have no jacks and which are, then, not to performknitting, are not raised above the plane ofthe ledge 4, but ride thereonuntil they encounter the cam 7 which deiects them underI the cam 9 and,thence, under a cam 13 after which they join the active needles 2 andpass therewith up the l slope 12 onto the ledge 4.

It is to be understood that, during normal or round-and-round knitting,all of the needles, 2 and 3, may` be drawn to a plane, such as Vtheknitting-line marked A in Figsgj 2 and 3; and, thus, both sets ofneedles assume the same 'position with respect to the.v

the non-ravel round is to be produced-,and for which every second needle(2), as here shown, is raised bl y its jack, all of the needles (whetherin action or not)I may be drawn to the same knitting-line A. But theneedles 3, whose butts have not been raised over the cam '8, retaintheir stitches throu hout this operation, .while the needles, havingbutts 2a, have ,their latches lifted out of the old stitch `and havefreshyarn fed to their hooks .so that new stitches are formed therep by.When the needles having the butts 2a passdown the active face of thestitch-cham 11, they draw the runs of the yarn extending between themdown againstl the hooked ends of needles 3 which,'by the operationv ofthe cam 7. have been caused to pass under the cam 9;'that is to say, theyarn is ioated between the active needles 2 and back of the inactiveneedles 3. `It isan invariable effect of this operation to throw the runof yarn Yso held behind those needles which did not take it, thisbeing'due, in part, to the inwardV motion of the web-holders whichbegins dur'' ingy the stitch-forming movement and is completed duringthe raising of the needles at V diametralextension they the slope 12. Itis also an invariable effect that, because only one-half of the numberof needles are in action during the knitting of the non-ravel round, andbecause the same length of loop is drawn by these needles as is drawn byall of the needles during `the regular round-and-round work, the lengthof yarn drawn in thenon-ravel round is little more than one-half as longas that drawn in the round when all of the needles are in action. Hence,lwhen the fabric is under diametral extension, 'this round has to absorball of the strain and is the cause of frequent rupture of this round andforms the weakest portion of the entire fabric.

v The structure illustrated in Fig. 1 is adapted to function in themanner above described and is effective to produce, in one or morecourses, the type of stitches shown in Fig. 4 of the aforementionedCostello patent and as explained therein and in the Scott Patent No.1,152,850. v

By my inventive-concept, I am enabled .to correct the weakness abovepointed out: This I accomplish by providing, in a unique way, for avariation in the relationship between the needles and sinkersyand, thus,in respect to the normal knitting-line A. To that end, all oftheneedles, in knitting the non-ravel round, and whether in or out ofaction, may be drawn down to a. plane, such as the knitting-line markedB in Figs. 2 and 3. Thereby,the reduced number of needles inaction willdraw longer stitchesv v'yarn introduced into the anti-ravel round eX-cessive, the contiguous rounds would be correspondingly weakened.Vthereby, as under would thenbe r'equired to take undue strain and theywould thus form the weak point of the fabric.

In' Fig. 5, I have illustrated,L in an eztaggerated way, .the fabricknit by my novel procedure: 4It is' to be understood that rounds A, A, Aare those in which all of the needles are employed; and Wherebyordinaryround-andround knitting is produced; and that in round B, which is theanti-ravel round wherein every second needle has been thrown out ofaction and the yarn is floated back of the proximate, inactivevneedles,therequisite additional length of yarn has been knlt into the round. Therelation of the sinkerl or web-holder in respect to the needle inknitting rounds A, A, A may (for inf stance) be that' shown in Fig. 2;while, in knitting my improved anti-ravel round B, the relation ofthesinker or web-holder in respect to the needle may `(for instance) bethat shown in Fig. 3, or in Fig. 4, and whereby the required additionallength of yarn is drawn by the needle. IIn other words, where 1,623,0a4,l 3' the needle is positioned a greater distance cept that','intheanti-ravel'round, there are below the knitting-line AA. and, thus, inrea less numberv` of stitches than in the proxispect to the active faceof the sinker-as mate rounds; but, in this particular round. shown inFig. 3-01 where the radial movethere is substantially' the same lengthofy ment of the sinker is varied, as well as the yarn as inthe-proximate rounds, so that the 7o vertical movement of the needle, asshown in diametral extensibility thereof, as well 4as F-ig. 4, thelength ofyarll, fOlTmng the those of the adjacent rounds, is uniform;

stitches-here indicated by X-in the B.- hence, the diametralextensibility of all of round, plus the length floated-here indithefabric is uniform throughout. cated by Z-.between stitches, should besub- What I claim is: 75

stantially that used in making the stitches of l. A knitted web having aportion of plain the A-round plus the length of yarn ioated knittingincluding a series of rounds, each l between stitches. f course, acertain extra round having a predetermined length of length* of yarn inthe A.round would bc yarn knit thereinto, and which determines absorbedowing to the extra sinuosity of the the diametral extensibility of thatround;

`yarn due to the extra number of needles and a round having aless numberofstitches employed in that round; hence, the yarn 1n than inthecontiguous rounds but with subthe B-round need not be .quite as long asstentially the same length of yarn knit therethat in the A-round inorder to secure into as in those other rounds, the yarn of the samediametral extensibility in the B- that round being floated betweenstitches, round. It will be noted that, as shown in whereby Ithat roundis of substantially the Fig. 5, in the bottom A-round the intersamediametral extensibility as the` other mediate stitches S that have beencarried rounds. over are shown as drawn longer than nor- 2. A seamlesstubular knitted web having mal; but this is done merely to avoid con aportion of plain-knitting including com- 90 fusion, it being evidentthat each stitch in lplete rounds of stitches and an interposed aroundmust necessarily be of the same round of knitting comprising stitcheshalf' length when there is no vchange made in the the number of those incontiguous rounds, position of the Web-holder or sinker with each stitchcontaining a greater length of respect to the needle during the makingof yarn than in the stitches in the contiguous that round. courses, butthe course, in its entirety, in- By this disclosure, I present not only.a lcluding substantially the saine length of new method of knittingnon-raveling fabric, yarn as in the other rounds whereby the diabut,also, a new product, in that, in forming metral extensibility of thefabric in that a non-raveling'course, I vary the knitting portion isequal. v t relation ofthe sinkers and needles of which 3. A knitted web"having a portion of latter only a part are active tov produce the plainknitting including an anti-ravel round, course; that is to say, I-varysuch relationa series of rounds at opposite sides of and Ship tomaintain a uniform diametral exintegrally joined by that round, eachround tensibility of the fabric. of the series having a predeterminedlength It is to be understood that my anti-ravel of yarn knit thereintoand which determines round is to be distinguished from so-called theldiametral extensibility of that round.

` lace effects, varying gage openwork, etc.; and the anti-ravel roundhaving a less number of ,1s primarily directed to knitting in whichstitches than in the contiguous rounds but the yarn is fioated back ofthe' inactive knitwith substantially the same length of yarn 110ting-needles to lproduce the type of antias in those other rounds, andthe total length ravel course shown in Fig. 4. of the aforeof yarn inthat round substantially equalling mentioned Costello patent; but, inthe presthe total length of yarn each of the other ent instance, the webof the stocking is of rounds, the yarn of that round being floateduniform gauge when' not under tension, as between stitches, whereby thatround is of 115 by stretching; whereas, when tensioned by substantiallythe same diametral extensistretching-as wheny in use-there is nodisbility as the adjoining rounds. tortion of the fabric; that is,distortion of 4."The method of producing seamless liotlie stitches inthe anti-ratei round diminsiery which consists in knitting a series ofishes relatively when placed under tension, rounds, each round having apredetermined as when the stocking is in use. My inven-Iv length of yarnknit thereinto and which detive-concept isdirected to a seamlessstocktermines the diametral extensibility of that .ing having knitintothe body-portion of round; then knitting a round having a rethe fabricthereof and in the leg-section an duced number of stitches but withsubstananti-ravel round, there .being rounds ofplain tially the samelength of yarn as in the other 1'15 knitting 'on opposite Sides of thisround, rounds and, at the same time, floating such th'esabein integrallyconnected by that arn between stitches; and then resuming round. so t atthis round and those at each the full-stitch rounds, whereby thediametral side thereof involve a continuous and unextensibilityof allofthe said rounds is unibroken fabric. It is a feature of the conformthroughout.

5. The method of producing seamless liosiery on a series of needles,which consists in knitting a each round having a 5 of yarn knitthereinto and which determines the diametral then throwing plurality ofrounds thereon, predetermined length extensibility of that round; everysecond needle out of position and knitting a. round with one-half thenumber of stitches but With substantially the same length of yarn I@ andfloating the yarn between said stitches; and then resuming thefull-stitch rounds, whereby the diametral extensibility of all of saidrounds is uniform thoughout.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ABRAHAM J. BEUCUS.

